The Most Stylish Interiors for Spring: Healthy Homes

It’s no secret that our environments influence the way we feel, think and act. Most of us desire good health and and our home is the place where we spend most of our time. Both mental and physical health is paramount to overall well-being and easier to achieve when you encourage better living habits at home. Indoor pollution is a real issue and we all need to try and free our homes of the nasty chemicals which are harmful to ourselves and our planet.

Robin Lucas is an artist, designer and gardener, dividing his time between his home on the Isle of Wight, London and the wilds of North Lancashire (pictured), taking much of his inspiration from his surroundings.

From an early age, Robin held a particular fascination for the natural world, history, gardens and interiors. Rarely without a sketchbook in his hand, he is a keen collector of books, art, and curiosities; he uses these interests to create a natural dialogue between interiors and his work.

Robin sadly suffers from severe dermatitis, having been hospitalized for it 3 times in the last 18 months alone, with it cruelly spreading to his eyes, meaning his vision is sometimes very poor. From this, he had to make some amendments to better his living habits and when it came to decorating his new home, Robin had to choose products that would not exacerbate his already severe condition..

At the end of 2019, Robin contacted us about his beautiful new Lancashire home and about using our natural paint, we shall let Robin tell you why finding a truly natural paint with no chemicals is so important to him and for his health, especially over the last year.

Pictured below in order, Robin chose a beautiful warm palette of colours in Whiting, Cinnamon and Buff. Cinnamon is our ‘colour of the week‘ this week, take a look on our social media for more information on this beautiful brown hue!

‘Now more than ever we need some colour in our lives. The grim cloud that hangs over the planet is one of our own making, but as we are slowly acclimatising to a new abnormal it seems a good time to take stock of things and think a little deeper about our surroundings.Despite being in another enforced lockdown, there may be a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. Over the last year we have been forced to spend more time than ever at home. Our very immediate environment has now become absolutely central to our daily lives. The concept of home and what we surround ourselves with, both from an aesthetic point of view but also from a health perspective, is more important than ever before.

We moved house at the very end of 2019, racing to be in before Christmas. Little did we know what the New Year was to bring! During the project we were very keen to use as many sustainable, re-used, and British-made products as possible. This was relatively easy for furniture as the vast majority would be antique and items such as fabric, flooring and tiles were also quite easy to source, but the painting of the walls was a little harder. This lead me down a rabbit hole of myriad companies declaring many credentials: eco/sustainable/historic/natural and many, many others. We ended up using Edward Bulmer Natural Paint in most of the rooms. It was initially prompted by their eco-friendly philosophy and the historic nature of the colours. But what I wasn’t aware of at the time is that the paint doesn’t contain any petrochemicals. This may sound trivial, but hear me out. Firstly, petrochemicals are derivatives of crude oil and, as we know, this is a fossil fuel. And now more than ever we should be looking at the way we use the natural resources of our planet. The production of standard modern paints not only uses oil as a central ingredient, but the carbon footprint entailed within the manufacturing process is considerable. The other point about petrochemicals is that they have been shown to exacerbate health issues, for example, conditions such as asthma, eczema and even some cancers. I suffer from very severe dermatitis, in fact I’ve been hospitalised 3 times in the last 18 months with it, and cruelly it has now spread to my eyes so I have had periods where my vision is very poor. So, for me especially, I am very conscious of any potential trigger; paint being one!

Now, I am not for a moment suggesting that having petrochemical free products will cure any health issues, but it certainly can’t make them worse.

I’ve always been interested in detail and subtlety but in the last year this has been taken to a new level. As an artist, I find the play of light on a wall and the way colour changes through the day especially fascinating – how rooms warm up and cool down depending on the time of day. Edward Bulmer Natural Paint are especially nuanced as they are made entirely from natural pigments, and I find myself staring at the play of light on the walls and noting how it varies over the day and even between days.’

‘I feel I speak for many that this year has been a very difficult one, filled with uncertainty and with continued doubt ahead. Despite this, it has given us the opportunity to reflect a little and really look at our surroundings, which should be regarded as a worthwhile benefit for us all.

In a time like this, it’s maybe the moment we need to be a little kinder to others, a little kinder to nature and, a little kinder to ourselves.’

Robin is available for commissions and consultation services in the UK and abroad, see his website and beautiful collection of work.

Pictured, an example of his beautiful interiors artwork drawing.

Follow @robinhhlucas on Instagram.

Thank you Robin.

If you would like to find out more about the health benefits of our natural paints or would like to know more about the process, please head over to our website. From our inspiration gallery to advice on choosing the right colour and finish, we have plenty to browse and help you begin your decorating project!